The province’s education minister is proposing new safety protocols for daycares in the wake of the crash at a Richmond Hill childcare centre that killed a one-and-a-half year-old boy and injured nine others.
the minister and Markham-Stouffville MPP Paul Calandra advised that childcare operators should get rid of parking spaces that are “immediately adjacent to entryways, windows and exterior walls of classrooms or playgrounds at child care facilities,鈥 though accessible spaces would be excluded from those changes.聽
The move comes after an SUV rammed through a large glass window , near Yonge Street and Nottingham Drive, Wednesday afternoon. A toddler was rushed to hospital where he was pronounced dead, while two other children remained in critical condition as of Thursday afternoon, according to York police. Four more children and three adult staff members were also taken to hospital for non-life threatening injuries.聽
A 70-year-old driver from Richmond Hill was arrested at First Roots Early Education Academy and
Vinay Kumar Gupta, 70, was arrested at the daycare and has been charged with a count of dangerous operation causing death and two counts of dangerous operation causing bodily harm.
In the wake of the crash, police described the incident as 鈥渘ot a deliberate act.鈥
Calandra also announced that he is ordering inspections to 鈥渋dentify any vulnerabilities鈥 at childcare facilities across Ontario.聽
“Our government will make any necessary legislative or regulatory amendments to municipal or landlord restrictions that currently prevent the installation of protective barriers such as bollards, planters, elevated curbs, and other physical infrastructure to protect children and workers in these settings,鈥 Calandra wrote.
The boy, one-and-a-half years old, was pronounced dead in hospital after the 3 p.m. crash
The minister said the policy changes will apply to all childcare centres in the province other than those running in private homes, adding that the directives will be implemented immediately.聽
Concerned parents and residents quickly flooded social media following the crash, engaging in conversations over the lack of bollards and other safety barriers separating the daycare property from the parking lot.
Please see my statement below regarding the tragic events in Richmond Hill yesterday:
鈥 Paul Calandra (@PaulCalandra)
Shauna Brail, urban planner and associate professor and director at the University of Toronto’s Institute for Management and Innovation, called the incident “tragic” but couldn’t comment on how the absence of bollards may have lessened the severity of the crash.聽
“Sometimes things seem obvious only after a very devastating event, and it鈥檚 unfortunately really difficult (and probably impractical) to envision and plan for a city that takes into consideration every possible catastrophe,” Brail wrote in an email statement Thursday before Calandra’s announcement.聽
With files from Asma Sahebzada聽
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